Allegory of Spring

Allegory of Spring by Joos de Momper depicts the season through a landscape teeming with new growth and pastoral activity. The four seasons as landscape allegories were a popular series format in Flemish painting. De Momper specialized in panoramic Flemish landscapes that opened onto vast, atmospheric distances, his technique characterized by a loose, gestural touch quite unlike the meticulous detail of his predecessors. Mannerism (c.1520-1600) emerged as artists responded to—and deliberately subverted—High Renaissance ideals.

The lush, verdant landscape conveys spring's renewal through bright greens and animated figures, the composition organized with de Momper's characteristic panoramic sweep.